


Falling For You

by Softboyshawn



Category: Shawn Mendes (Musician)
Genre: F/M, personal assistant - alternate universe, shawn mendes - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-06
Updated: 2018-12-06
Packaged: 2019-09-12 12:37:25
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 10,290
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16873050
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Softboyshawn/pseuds/Softboyshawn
Summary: Summary: You’re Shawn’s personal assistant and after a misunderstanding with fans he get the idea that you could be his fake girlfriend to avoid being roped into a messy publicity stunt with a girl he doesn’t like. The thing about that is, both of you have feelings for each other that are less than fake and acting on them while pretending brings out the truth.





	Falling For You

The moment you check into your hotel room and get settled Shawn is knocking on the door that joined your rooms. You open it and roll your eyes at him because you figure he’s just up to his usual shenanigans. He always did this when hotel rooms had shared doors. You think he secretly liked the idea of sharing a room even though he always insisted he hated sharing them.

“Yes? How can I help you?” you ask in your most formal voice, teasing him.

“Can you do something for me?” Shawn asks as he pulls his ring off his finger. It’s the one with the two overlapping feathers that he had gotten in Japan last year. He never took it off. Not even to shower as far as you knew.

Your eyes go to his hand and then to his face. Okay this wasn’t a joke, he was seriously asking you to do something for him. “Yeah, what’s wrong?” you ask as he holds his hand out with the ring in it.

“I want you to hold on to this while we’re doing the press tour here.”

“What?” You look down at his ring and he back up at him. “Shawn, you never take that off. What’s going on? Did something happen?”

Shawn pushes the ring into your hand and curls his fingers over yours. “Last time I was in Europe for a while I ended up losing my other one. Remember how fucked up I was?”

You shake your head. “I wasn’t here for that. I do remember you telling me you lost it though. But are you sure? I mean if you never take it off then how could you lose it?”

“Please,” Shawn says softly, squeezing your fingers a bit. “Just humor me and hold on to it.” You sigh and agree to do as he asks. If would give him a piece of mind what would holding on to it for a few weeks hurt?

_______________

Four days. That’s how long it took before fans noticed his ring was missing from his hand and that it was on a chain around your neck. You thought nothing of putting it on a chain you picked up in a corner store for a couple bucks. You just figured it was safer on you than sitting in your luggage in the hotel. Big mistake.

First, fans noticed it was gone from Shawn’s possession. That sparked a huge discussion across multiple social media platforms. You had seen everything from theories that he lost it, gave it to someone, or left it at home. Shawn didn’t bother to address the topic as it wasn’t that big of a deal to him. He knew where it was. That was what mattered.

Then…then you were pulling off a hoodie you had been wearing because it was getting pretty warm that afternoon and you happen to be wearing a v-neck shirt that showed the necklace. For some reason a couple fans snapped pictures of you and someone pointed out that you had the ring. It shouldn’t have been a big deal. You were his personal assistant, you had his things on you all the time. This wasn’t anything new. Hell, you carried his wallet and his phone sometimes, it wasn’t a big deal.

But to fans that ring meant something. It meant something that you had it and you were wearing it around your neck. That ‘something’ was that you and Shawn were hooking up. Which was not the case at all, but try telling that to an irrational fan who thinks Shawn owes them his loyalty. Go on. Try.

So here you are now, standing in Shawn’s hotel room with Andrew and Geoff parked on the small couch near the window while Shawn laid out on the bed with a pillow over his face.

“This is insane,” Shawn groans. “Why is this such a big deal? It’s just a ring! She’s just wearing it to keep it safe like I asked her!”

“Yes, we know. You’ve told us at least a dozen times now,” Jake says with an eye roll. “Have you tweeted about it yet? Maybe if you explain the situation…”

Shawn pulls the pillow from his face and cuts Jake a glare. “As if that would help. I hardly think tweeting anything will calm down ravenous fans.”

“Then just take it back and wear it,” Andrew says as he flips thru his phone, reading more theories and things of that sort. “She won’t have it. Problem solved.”

“Yeah but then you’ll open a whole new can of worms. People will just think he took it back to calm down the drama. They’re still going to think we’re dating…fucking…whatever they think we’re doing. The damage is done,” you sigh defeatedly.

“So we just wait it out?” Jake asks.

“Yeah pretty much,” you shrug and sit on the bed next to Shawn.

“Well, I’m done worrying about it then. Ignore it and it will go away right?” Jake says as he and Andrew stand up. Andrew just sighs and shakes his head as he agrees half heartedly. “Let’s go get dinner. You guys wanna come or do you want us to get anything?”

“I’m good,” Shawn grumbles and you just shake your head. The two of them leave and as soon as the door clicks closed Shawn grabs the back of your shirt and pulls you back to lay beside him. “What if we were a thing?” he asks.

_______________ 

Rolling onto your side, you just stare at Shawn. He couldn’t be serious. The idea of the two of you being a thing makes your heart race and you don’t know why. Sure you’ve had a crush on Shawn before, who hasn’t? But you put it in the past, putting your job before that nonsense. You made sure not to mix your feelings with your work. Shawn and all the guys on his team and all of his friends were off limits. No way no how. You were not going to get messy like that.

“You can’t be serious, Shawn.”

Shawn rolls on his side to face you and suddenly your heart skips and you wish it wouldn’t do that. “I don’t mean like for real. I mean just for show.”

His words make your heart sink, but in a good way? Or was it a disappointed way? This was already going to be bad. Shawn should just stop talking. Him and his sweet smile, soft eyes and gentle words would make you do almost anything. He had to be stopped.

“I don’t think that’s a good idea for like a thousand reasons. Why would you want a fake girlfriend?”

Shawn sighs, rolling back on to his back. “Andrew and Justin want me to get involved with this girl Cailey. Remember that dinner meeting I had to go to a few weeks ago? It was about the two of us pretending to date or something. It’s supposed to help me stir up interest for the new album and she benefits by getting attention for her modeling career and stuff.”

“Are you serious? Shawn, didn’t you say no?”

“I tried to. I mean I told them I didn’t want to do it but her manager was pushy. We’re on the verge of a decision and it’s out of my control. I don’t like her though, I don’t even want to be around her. She is actually the worst person ever.”

You reach over and lay your hand on Shawn’s chest. “It’s not a good idea. Andrew isn’t going to buy it, and I sure as hell don’t think Justin will. They’re going to know it’s not real.”

“I can convince them. We can convince them. Please, I’ve never asked for something so important before, I need this.”

“I could lose my job. I-I don’t know Shawn…”

Shawn grabs your hand and holds it over his heart. “You’re the only one who can help me. The interest is already there, the suspicions from fans and media. We just have to supposedly slip up and kiss in public or something and Andrew will think we were just lying to him. I’ll make sure you don’t lose your job.”

You curl your fingers into his shirt and he looks at you, eyes begging you to say yes. You take a deep breath and close your eyes as you lean into him and press your head against his shoulder. This was so goddamn risky, but you weren’t going to standby and watch him suffer a PR stunt for months on end with a girl he didn’t like.

“Please,” Shawn whispers and you relax your hand against his chest.

“Alright. Fine. We’ll do this, but you really have to help me sell it. I want the whole nine yards, the whole girlfriend experience with the one and only Shawn Mendes.”

Shawn chuckles and runs his hand through your hair, bringing your head closer so he can kiss the top of it. “You got yourself a deal. I promise I’ll keep you safe if it all goes to shit.”

“You better.”

“I promise I will.”

You let out a sigh and lean back to look at him just to see he’s smiling like an idiot. “So what do we do first?”

“You wanna get dinner? I think being together without the team might stir up some more rumors. Why not start now?”

“Seems innocent enough, but do you think Andrew will just get pissed we went out among the current rumors.”

Shawn sits up and crawls off the bed. “That’s what I want. I want him to be annoyed but suspicious. Then we can ‘accidentally’ kiss in a few days or something and really get Andrew to buy it.”

You get up and grab your shoes from where you toed them off by the door earlier. “When you kiss me you better warn me, and no tongue.”

“What! Oh come on you can’t ask for the whole girlfriend experience and forbid tongue,” Shawn chuckles. He walks over to you and stops you against the wall beside the door. “We have to sell it, y’know?” he says as he makes a lewd licking motion inches from your face.

“God you’re gross,” you laugh and he grins.

“What? You think my tongue is gross?”

You shrug and slide away from him to grab the door handle. “I think you’re gross in general.”

“Oh yeah? Why don’t I believe that for one second?”

You open the door and head out toward the elevator and Shawn follows close behind you. “I don’t know, maybe because you’re a weirdo? You’re totally gross.”

Shawn pushes you as you step into the elevator, causing you to stumble forward. “Hey!” you yelp and he walks you against the back wall. Just like that, he’s up against you, pinning you in with his forearms on the wall behind you, face leaned down only inches from yours. His breath is hot and your heart is racing. It was too real. There weren’t even people around. What was he doing? Why was he doing this?

“Save it for the cameras,” you mutter, swallowing thickly. Your eyes dart between his mouth and his eyes as you try to read him. Either he was a really good actor or he was actually turned on and really wanted to kiss you.

The bell dings on the elevator, signalling your arrival at the lobby. Shawn leans in and you think he’s about to kiss you but he doesn’t. He licks your cheek and pushes off the wall to run out of the elevator and into the lobby. You’re left standing there with a wet cheek and a heart that was about to explode. A second passes and you snap back to reality just in time to rush out of the elevator to see Shawn waiting for you by the doors looking smug as hell. If this was Shawn’s idea of a fake relationship, you were screwed.

_______________ 

You and Shawn found a diner that served some local dishes and each of you tried something you could hardly pronounce. Both dishes ended up being really good and you were pleasantly surprised. Dinner wound down and it didn’t seem like anyone had noticed the two of you, which was the goal of course. So Shawn suggests going for a walk, saying there was a park not too far away that he remembered driving by on the way to the hotel when you all arrived.

So here you are walking side by side as the sun goes down and basks the budding trees and soft grass in a golden glow. Spring in Sweden was absolutely gorgeous, if not a little chilly in the evening.

Shawn bumps his hand against yours and you bite your lip, looking the other way at a tree that had little white flowers all over it. He does it again and you twitch your fingers against his. It’s permission enough and he slides his hand into yours. It’s warm and you find your fingers sliding into the spaces between his.

“No one is around,” you mutter and he squeezes tight.

“You never know when someone will appear.”

You swing your hand and he chuckles. “I think you just like holding my hand.”

“Nah, I’m just trying to sell our relationship.” He grins and lifts your arm up and spins you around out in front of him. You twirl around, ducking under his arm and he pulls you back in close.

“I’m kind of cold,” you say with a small shiver.

“I can fix that.”

Shawn drops your hand and steps back to take off his denim jacket he has on over his pink hoodie. You reach for the jacket and he shakes his head, dropping it on the ground to pull his hoodie up and over his head with both hands.

“This will be warmer,” he says passing you the hoodie and picking up his jacket to put back on.

You slide your arms in and pull the soft pink fabric over you head. It’s a little loose on you but it’s warm, very warm. Shawn was like a furnace and you had no idea how he didn’t over heat every ten minutes when he wore layers.

Shawn looks past you and you turn to look at whatever he was staring at. There is a small group of girls standing by some trees nearby with their phones out. You look back at Shawn and he’s smiling, knowing everything was falling into place. 

“You can come over here!” Shawn yells, waving at the girls. They giggle and jog over, chattering excitedly to themselves as they approached. You step back, staying quiet as they fawn over Shawn.

“Can we get a picture?” they ask and Shawn smiles.

“Yeah, of course. Here, give me your phone,” Shawn says and takes the first girl’s phone. He angles it so you’re in the background and snaps the picture. He does this for each girl, making sure you were visible in almost every photo. He was such a little shit. He knew exactly how to play this game and you were almost shocked at how good he was.

A couple of the girls keep glancing at you and then talking quietly. They weren’t even discreet. You knew they were talking about you. Shawn finishes signing one girl’s phone case and looks over at you just as one of them asks, “Is that your assistant?”

“Yeah, she’s great. She keeps me on track and out of trouble,” Shawn chuckles, motioning for you to come closer. You do and he puts his arm around your shoulders. “She’s the best.”

“Is that your hoodie?” someone asks and you look at Shawn for an answer.

Shawn doesn’t answer and instead he just grins and thanks the girls for being such great fans and says the two of you have to go now, that it was getting late. With that the two of you walk away and the girls go the opposite direction.

Once you’re out of earshot, Shawn leans down and whispers, “How long before Andrew sees those pictures do you think?”

“Oh god, less than a day.” You laugh and shake your head. “He’s going to kill us.”

“Probably.”

“We’re really doing this huh?”

Shawn pulls you close and rubs the top of your head, messing up your hair as you approach the rental car the two of you were using to get around the city. “We’re really doing this,” he says with a chuckle and you nod. You sure were doing this. 

_______________ 

A few days pass and no one says anything to you or Shawn. Everything goes on as it usually did. You think Andrew just missed the pictures or something, or maybe he just didn’t care. Either way it’s bothering you and it’s all you can think about. So here you are, sitting all alone in the lounge at an after party for some european awards show that Shawn performed at and stress drinking a rum and coke.

The place was crawling with celebrities and usually you’d be near Shawn politely socializing, but you just can’t be bothered tonight. It was fine, you weren’t looking for a new client anyways, so socializing wasn’t top priority for you anymore. You could just sit and worry until Shawn was ready to leave.

“Hey, what are you doing over here all alone?” Shawn asks as he plops down on the loveseat beside you, interrupting your thoughts about how you were going to lie about your relationship with Shawn when someone inevitably asked.

“Avoiding people,” you laugh as you take a sip of your drink. You look around and shrug. “This just isn’t my scene anymore, you know that.”

Shawn leans his head against your shoulder and you lean your head against his hair. He smells like cologne and the floral scented product he used to style his mess of hair. It’s nice. Comforting.

“Do you wanna get out of here? I’m sure no one will notice if we slip out the back.”

“You really think no one is going to notice? I’m pretty sure people will think it’s strange that the guy who just put on an amazing performance just up and disappeared.”

Shawn shrugs and grabs your hand, standing and hauling you up against him. “This isn’t really my scene either, I don’t know these people that well.” He looks around the room and shakes his head. Almost everyone he knew was busy or had already left for another afterparty. “Alright, here’s what we’re going to do. We’re going sneak out the fire exit behind the bar and if anyone asks I’ll say I wasn’t feeling well so my assistant took me to the hotel.”

“This will never work,” you giggle and he just grins like a kid.

Before you know it you’re being pulled through the crowded after party and toward a door labeled emergency exit that was behind the bar counter. Shawn pulls you through the little opening on the bar without the bartender even noticing because he was too busy trying to get some girl’s number. Thankfully there isn’t an alarm on the door because you’re sure Shawn didn’t even consider that.

The second Shawn pushes the door open and the two of you step out into the alley behind the event center, you get soaked. It’s pouring rain and your dress clings to you as the water soaks in quickly causing little rivers to run down your arms, into your cleavage and down the back of your dress. You may as well have just stepped into a shower fully clothed.

Shawn runs out into the middle of the alley and puts his arms out with is head back as he spins in a circle. He yells into the night air and it’s swallowed up by the roar of the downpouring rain. You can’t help but laugh and he looks over, grinning like an idiot because he know you’re laughing at him.

He really is a sight to see. His hair is plastered to the sides of his head and forehead. The light gray suit he was wearing was dark charcoal gray now as it has become fully soaked, and you just know as soon as Lydia, his stylist, comes to pick it up in the morning that he’s going to get yelled at.

“It’s pouring! What are you doing!?” you yell over the increasingly loud thunder that rumbles in the distance.

Shawn splashed forward and grabs your hands, pulling you out into the middle of the alley and you step in a puddle that covers your shoes and you squeal as the cold water rushes over the tops of your feet. Every inch of you was soaked to the bone, and Shawn looked about as happy as a pig in mud. He lifts up some of your hair off your shoulder and smiles. To have him look at you like that…it made the line between a real and fake relationship pretty blurry.

“You look like a drowned rat.”

Your jaw drops. If anyone could ruin a moment it was this guy.

“Oh as if you look much better!” you scoff, running your hand through his hair and shaking it, just to watch the rain smooth it back down on his forehead immediately. “You look like a mop that’s been put up to dry in a rainstorm!”

Headlights light up the alley entrance a few feet away and you turn to look and see if it was someone coming down the roadway. They were just stopped at the stop sign on the corner before turning left down the alley adjacent. It was a reminder that someone might find you out there, and that you should get going and stop dilly dallying in the rain.

“We should call a cab or something,” you mutter as you attempt to wipe the water from your face but it’s no use.

“Let’s get somewhere dry first. I don’t think my phone is waterproof,” Shawn says as he pulls his very wet phone out of his very wet pocket. “Yeah, no, this is busted.”

You start to open your purse but immediately close it upon seeing what the rain has done to Shawn’s phone.

Shawn pockets his phone and walks toward the entrance of the alley. He looks up and down the street for any sort of shop that was still open at this time of night. Of course everything was dark but the streetlights.

You walk up behind him and take a look too before suggesting going back inside.

Shawn shakes his head, taking a few steps down the sidewalk. “Hell no. We’re going to the end of the block, I think there was a McDonald’s up that way when we were driving here.”

Shawn comes back and puts his arm around you and the two of you head down the street. It’s not far before the next cross street and sure enough, Shawn was right. There was actually a McDonalds a little ways down on the cross street. Leave it to him to know exactly where food was but not to know what time he had to be anywhere or literally anything actually important.

You roll your eyes at how unbelievable he was and the two of you head for the bright parking lot.

You push open the front door of the building and Shawn hurries in after you. You’re dripping all over the floor, leaving a small river as you head to the bathrooms, waving politely to the employee at the counter who gives a sympathetic look. Shawn ducks into the men’s room and you head into the ladies to do whatever you could to get dry.

Almost twenty minutes later and you we some semblance of dry. You had ended up stripping down to nothing in the handicap stall so you could wring your dress and underwear out over the toilet to get most of the water out of them. You had a moment, standing there on the cold floor, your dress hanging on the assistance rail beside you, that you look down and realize you’re wearing nothing but his ring on the chain around your neck.

There’s some sort of symbolism there but you can’t put your finger on it. You push the thought aside before you allow yourself to get too caught up in it. You had to focus on getting dressed and getting dry. Afterall, you were naked in a McDonald’s bathroom in a foreign country. There were bigger issues at hand then a ring on a chain.

You put your clothes back on and toss your tights in the trash, giving up on them completely. You set your shoes up on the small counter under the air hand dryers and turned them all on. A few twists of your hair, wipes of your face with surprisingly not crappy paper towels, and you were almost presentable as a human being again.

When you exit the bathroom Shawn is at the front counter ordering. He’s in his slacks and his black button down. You spot his jacket hanging on a nearby chair along with his socks and you take a seat until he comes over.

“I got us some chicken sandwiches and fries. I hope you’re good with that,” Shawn says as he sinks into the chair next to his wet jacket. “If not you can get whatever you want, I have my card.”

“No, chicken is fine,” you laugh, shaking your head. “Did we actually just leave an upscale after party to come to a McDonalds in Sweden at midnight?”

Shawn grins big. “Sure did baby.”

You snort, leaning back in the chair and shaking your head in disbelief. “How did I ever get stuck with you?”

Shawn leans forward and props his head up on his chin. He really has to stop looking at you like that. It wasn’t good for your heart. “Well, I think you applied for a job with your agency and then they sent you to Andrew who interviewed you and-”

“I know how I got the job!”

“Well maybe if you knew you shouldn’t have asked,” he teases with a smirk.

You roll your eyes and look out at the rain coming down in droves across the parking lot. It didn’t seem to be letting up anytime soon. “I guess I meant, how did I get so lucky to get to be your assistant and stuck with your wild and crazy ways. I’d worked for two other people before and they were just boring as hell. All I did was sit around all day and make and remake schedules.”

“You were meant to work with me,” Shawn smiles.

He reaches across the table and hooks his finger through the chain around your neck. He tugs it toward himself and you lean forward, not wanting it to break. You’re so close, his eyes are on your lips and yours are on his. The tension is thick and your throat feels like it’s closing up as your heart is about to burst.

“Our food is ready,” he whispers, grinning as he drops the necklace and stands up to go to the counter.

You sink back into your seat and stare at his empty chair. He couldn’t do this. You couldn’t do this. If he was going to play with you; tease you, whatever this was that he was doing, when no one was around to see, then you were going to call off your deal. You couldn’t have your emotions played with. Not by him. Not like this.

Shawn sits back down, setting the tray of food on the table before you and you look down. It looks good enough, although you’re not sure you feel like you can eat, but you manage to consume a little of the food while you talk about how tomorrow afternoon the two of you and Andrew have to catch a flight to Paris.

You chuckle to yourself at that. Paris. The city of love. Also the city of no paparazzi. You were going to have to work even harder to ‘expose’ this fake relationship now. God…it felt like it wasn’t going to work, like everything was working against you, but maybe that was okay…maybe it wasn’t meant to be like this. Maybe things weren’t supposed to work out.

_______________

The rain let up enough that you and Shawn could run out to the car you called for to take you home. There was only one ride service in the area you were in that ran late in the morning and they charged an arm and a leg too. Thankfully Shawn had no problem with paying the steep fee but you sort of felt bad for anyone who needed a ride so late. It seemed unfair that they jacked their rates up for late night driving…which made you wonder if the driver was just upcharging because he recognized Shawn. In that case. What a dick.

It’s nearly 2am when you arrive at the hotel. Shawn grabs your hand in the lobby and your heart beats double time as he drags you to the elevator. Again, no one was around to see this show of familiarity. You clench your jaw. You had to say something sometime right? But maybe not yet.

Shawn drops your hand in the elevator and you look over at him as he watches the floor numbers creep higher and higher. His profile is astounding. You look away, down at the floor.

Why did everything have to change? Last week you were content being his assistant and bossing him around at meetings and shows. You were perfectly happy that you had put aside the little (huge) crush you had on him when you first started, and he had to go and ruin it by asking you to be his fake girlfriend. Which, by the way, didn’t seem so fake now. At least not for you anyways. When this was all over you were going to be so fucked. So completely fucked because it wasn’t going to end in some fairytale romance. Shawn was not actually going to fall in love with his assistant. That didn’t happen. Life wasn’t a Hallmark movie, but damn you wish it was.

The moment you get to your room door and open your purse you realize you don’t have your key card. You had switched purses for the event so you would match your dress. The key card was in a pocket in your other purse.

“Guess what,” you groan and Shawn looks over as he pushes open his door.

“Hmm?”

“My keycard is in the room.”

Shawn pushes his door open with a grin. “Come on in then,” he bows, waving his arm out into the room dramatically. “Madame forgetful.”

“You’re a jerk,” you laugh.

You push him in the chest and he just chuckles, letting out a little oomph as his back hits the door.

Shawn walks in and goes over to his suitcase and starts undressing. He tosses his jacket on the back of a nearby chair and starts stripping down quickly, wanting to be rid of the still damp clothes. He stops as he gets his pants undone and looks over to where you’re standing transfixed by the bathroom door.

“You alright? You’ve seen me undress before?”

“Yeah…no, um…” You look away from him because your mind was starting to wander and that could not happen. “I don’t have any clothes is all. They’re in my room and I can’t get in? I’d like to be dry too.”

“Oh, right. Hold on.” Shawn leans over his suitcase and digs through it for a moment. He fishes out a shirt and a pair of boxers. “These might fit you?” he offers, holding them up.

It wasn’t like you had a choice. It was his clothes or your damp cold ones. The latter seemed far worse for sleeping.

You take the clothes and go into the bathroom, pressing your back against the door. You close your eyes and take a deep breath. You had to remember you were his assistant. Not his real girlfriend. This meant nothing. Wearing his clothes was a necessity right now.

You start to change and you try not to think about the fact you were going to be wearing his clothes, more particularly, his boxers, or that you were going to be sleeping in his bed. You scoff to yourself as you set your purse on the counter. Your phone and one of the check in forms that you had the door code to the building written on falls out.

The check form… from the check in desk!

You could just go to the lobby and ask for a new key card. That was if someone was down there, and even then they were probably trying to snooze. You feel like you’d be an asshole if you went down there so late.

You bite your lip and look over at Shawn’s clothes on the hook where you placed them when you walked in. Your clothes are on the floor in a heap by the bathtub. Well, you were already undressed…you may as well just stay with Shawn and not bother the nice front desk person so late at night.

Sighing, you pick up his shirt and pull it on before you slide your panties down and off. You catch sight of yourself in the mirror. His shirt sits at almost your mid upper thigh, just enough to cover your bare bottom half.

What if you walked out there like this?

No.

You turn around and grab the boxers off the counter. Shawn might push the boundaries with all his out of sight attentions but you weren’t going to do it too. The last thing you needed was for this ordeal to go any farther and end up with both of you making a mistake that couldn’t be undone.

Shawn knocks on the door and you snap out of your thoughts, jerking around at the rapt knocking. “Hey, you okay in there? You’re not like sniffing my shirt and getting off or something are you? Because as weird as that is, it’s kind of hot and-”

You open the door to find him leaning against the doorframe with a smirk on his face. He knew what he was doing, and he always loved to tease you before this started, but now he seemed to like to make it far more sexual. The little shit.

“You aren’t funny.”

“You’re mad because I found out your dirty little secret.”

He leans in and you think he’s going to say something really dirty that is going to make you flush like a tomato. He grins and you are about to push past him, wanting to avoid whatever his mind would come up with when he whispers against your ear. “Go pick out your side of the bed. I have to pee, now move.”

_______________

You wake up to the sound of snoring. Deep but soft rumbles coming from behind you. You’re warm, too warm. Shawn has his arm around you and you’re pulled back against his chest, legs tangled with yours.

“Shawn,” you whisper and he stirs, snoring coming to a halt.

His arm tightens around you and he buries his face in your hair. His hand slides up and down your stomach under his shirt you’re wearing and it makes you shiver. You know he’s asleep, and he’s been alone for a long time, and that he must crave the physical intimacy as badly as you did these days. So you try not to blame him for the cuddling and you try not think too far into the cuddling.

“You’re skin is soft,” Shawn mumbles against your head. Maybe he wasn’t as asleep as you thought.

“Thanks, but remember what I said last night?”

He groans, slipping his hand out from under your shirt as he rolls onto his back. You made it very clear that you were not allowed to cuddle if you were going to sleep in the same bed. Obviously unconscious Shawn paid no mind to that what so ever.

“We have to get packed, it’s almost nine in the morning. Our flight leaves at noon for France.”

“You’re ice cold,” Shawn says with a smirk. “I know you want to cuddle longer.”

“Shawn, come on.” You roll your eyes.

His arm snakes around your waist and he pulls you against his side. “Don’t act like you don’t love it. I distinctly remember waking up at six this morning and you were all over me.”

“I was not!”

“You were too.”

Shawn reaches over and grabs his phone off the nightstand. He brings up a photo of the two of you in bed. The light is low and soft from the windows and you’re curled up with your head on his chest, your hand over his heart. It’s sweet, intimate…weird. Wait a minute.

“Why did you take that picture!”

“Well, I figure if Andrew doesn’t say anything by the time we’re done in Paris, then I’ll accidentally post this to instagram. Nothing says relationship like some sweet cuddles, and you are really selling it.” He turns the phone so you can see the photo again. “Look at your little hand over my heart and my hand in your hair as I kiss the top of your head. I mean it’s perfect and-”

“You better delete that as soon as Andrew calls off the deal with Cailey. I mean it. I don’t like when people take pictures of me and specially not when I’m sleeping, you creep.”

“I prefer the term boyfriend.”

“Fake boyfriend.” You snort and push away from him, throwing the covers back. “Get yourself dressed. I’m going to the lobby to get a new room card so I can pack and we can get to the airport.”

“No breakfast?”

“You can get something on the way.” You stop at the mirror on the back of the bathroom door and you tie up your hair.

Shawn puts his arm over his face and you roll your eyes.

“You better not be going back to sleep.”

“I’m not.”

“Then what’s wrong? Get up, get moving. Come on.”

“You look really good in my clothes, that’s what’s wrong.”

You swallow hard and turn away toward the door. You leave without another word and head to the lobby to get a key card.

Paris was going to be the last stand. If nothing happened in Paris then you were calling this whole thing off and Shawn was going to have to stand up to Andrew and Justin alone on the Cailey ordeal. You couldn’t go on with Shawn saying things like that behind closed doors. This is not what you agreed to. You agreed to pretending around other people, not pretending around each other.

Your greatest fear is that Shawn was pretending when it was just the two of you so that you could really make it look convincing when you were together. But even worse would be Shawn actually falling for you, and all his actions weren’t pretend. Both thoughts made your heart ache.

_______________

Paris. A beautiful city with grand architecture, art and culture. A place where romance was around every corner. The city of love. How ironic.

You stare out the window of the van you’re riding in to the hotel from the airport. The plane ride had been fairly short, only a few hours, and Shawn was seated near Andrew the entire time. Thank God.

However you weren’t so lucky to be seated away from Shawn now. He was right beside you while Andrew and Geoff sat in the seats in front of you. You knew you were being cold and distant toward Shawn, not having spoken since this morning, but it’s what you decided was best. If you were going to feel something for him then it’d be easier if it were feigned annoyance and not a heart wrenching crush.

Shawn bumps his hand against yours on the seat and you pull away. He chases, placing his hand right next to where you’ve placed yours on your leg. He wasn’t going to make this easy for you.

You glance down and then over at him. He’s not even looking. The little shit. He is staring out the window with a smile on his face. You inch your hand away, turning your attention back to the passing shops and cafes.

Shawn clears his throat and you know he wants you to look over, but you won’t. Not getting your attention that way, he opts to slide his hand up your thigh to meet your hand once more. This time he hooks his pinky with yours so you can’t pull away so easily.

This gets your attention. You side eye him and he’s grinning at you. The way he was grinning would make you think holding pinkies was the most risque thing to do in the back of a van.

Honestly he was too cute and you could feel the icy barrier you put up around your heart already start to melt. So much for that plan.

Shawn holds your pinky the entire ride to the hotel and you just let him. He was going to find away to be touching you anyways, may as well let him.

Checking into the hotel is a nightmare. The clerk, while speaking English, had a very thick accent that Andrew struggled to understand. When he finally sorted things out, you find out that one of your rooms was already booked and there was an error in the online booking agent.

Geoff suggests finding a new hotel but Jake and Andrew don’t want to do that because they’d chosen this one specifically for it’s security.

“I’ll share with Shawn,” Jake says and Shawn groans.

“No offense Jake, but you’re the heaviest snorer I’ve ever met. I’d never get any sleep.”

Andrew sighs, knowing this couldn’t be easy.

“I can share with Shawn. Then you can all have your own rooms. I don’t mind. ” You shrug and look at Shawn. “It’s not like I haven’t had to share with him before. Remember the flooded hotel a few months ago?”

Shawn throws his arm around your shoulders and pulls you against him. “We can get a rollaway bed for you just like before. It’ll be fine.”

Andrew looks skeptical but agrees to the arrangement. You and Shawn exchange looks when he turns his back. Both of you know he’s suspicious now. Perfect.

_______________

Shawn wants to go out for lunch and you know he won’t bother inviting Andrew or saying anything to Jake before the two of you leave. It feels so bad, sneaking out of the hotel to galavant around the nearby shopping district. You can’t say you don’t love the thrill of it though.

Shawn reaches for your hand, bumping against it a few times for permission before he goes for holding it. You give in quickly, knowing what he wants and he threads his fingers between yours.

You know that this is going to be your last outing together before Shawn is booked up for the rest of the Paris promo. He has a fashion gala, a pop up merchandise event, a performance with a local radio station and an interview with another radio station.

You squeeze his hand and he squeezes back. It was now or never. Whatever happened on this outing had to be big and attention grabbing. You don’t dare ask yet, but the way he’s looking at you says he might have a plan.

_______________

The two of you can’t settle on a place for lunch which ends up with you walking around a small park nearby until one of you caved.

Shawn still has his hand in yours as you walk along a rose bush lined path. The park was gorgeous and in full view of the Eiffel Tower. Everything felt like a dream and you didn’t ever want to wake up.

“Crepes are such a classic lunch. I don’t know why you don’t want to get those,” Shawn says, continuing your lunch debate that lead to the walk in the park. He really wasn’t budging on the crepes idea.

“It sounds heavy,” you sigh, it’s only the third time you’ve said this.

Honestly crepes sounded pretty good but your stomach was in knots. Nerves were getting the best of you and you can’t take it any longer. Shawn was going to do something and you needed to be prepared. You were going to have to ask him what his plan was.

“You could get a plain one or just ham and ch-”

You stop, placing your hand on his chest and he stops mid sentence. He looks down, covers your hand with his and you can feel his heart racing just like yours. You pause, just a moment, taking in the slight intimacy before you speak.

“What are we doing?”

“We’re walking in the park and debating lunch?”

“No.” You close your eyes. “I mean what is the plan for our outing? What are we going to do to get caught?”

Shawn stares at you for a moment, as if he had forgotten that you were just out on a lunch date for appearances. He seemed to forget a lot that you weren’t his real girlfriend, but you did too.

“I don’t have a plan?”

“You have to have a plan.”

“I don’t. We’ll just make it up as we go.” He curls his fingers around your hand that’s still on his chest and he brings it up to kiss your knuckles. You flush and he grins, knowing he caused that.

“How about we skip lunch and get some ice cream? It would be far more romantic to eat ice cream in the park. “

Shawn pulls away, hand still in yours as he starts running toward the other end of the park. You stumble along with him, giggling and struggling to keep up.

“Shawn! I’m going to fall! Your legs are too long I can’t keep up!”

“I’ll catch you!” Shawn laughs, doubling back to scoop you up and spin you around a few times while you squeal to be let down. “I promise I’ll catch you whenever you fall.”

“Psh, you are such a mushy softie.”

Shawn places you down in front of the ice cream vendor cart and kisses the top of your head. “Sorry, I’m so soft.” He pokes his firm belly and makes a bleh noise. “I’m a regular stay puft marshmallow boy.”

You roll your eyes and step up to the cart. Shawn throws his arm around you and tries to order in French. It’s embarrassing.

“Deux Chocolat?” you say pointing at the chocolate ice cream. The vendor smiles and scoops, announcing your total in English and you thank him as you hand Shawn his little dish.

The two of you sit on a little bridge that goes over a creek that joins two ponds in the park. It faces the main street and the two of you remain in a comfortable silence as you watch cars and bikes and people with pets pass by.

A group of people nearby seem to be noticing you and Shawn. They’ve got phones out, failing to be discreet as they snap pictures of you. Your heart races and you elbow Shawn, nodding to the crowd. Shawn scoops up some of this ice cream and holds it out for you. “Open up,” he grins and you roll your eyes. “Open. Come on.”

You open your mouth and let him feed you, giggling as your lips close over the icy treat. “It tastes just like mine,” you say and he scoops another bit. You laugh as he makes airplane noises and ends up getting chocolate all over your lip and chin. “Hey! Watch where you’re putting that!”

Shawn parks his spoon in his cup and grabs your chin, swiping his thumb over the mess. He’s looking at you, eyes locked with yours. His lips part and you struggle to breathe as he leans in. “I’m going to kiss you,” he whispers, voice hardly audible. Just like that, his warm lips meet yours and he licks the ice cream from your lip. His hand goes into your hair and you lean into him, dropping your ice cream in the creek as you grab his face.

Making out in public wasn’t something you ever wanted to do. It just wasn’t something you were totally comfortable with, but Shawn…well…he was an exception. Besides. You needed to get people’s attention. You needed rumors to spread. What was more rumor confirming than making out in public?

Shawn breaks the kiss, rolling his forehead against yours. “I don’t want to pretend anymore,” he says quietly.

“W-what? Was the kiss that bad?” you whisper in return.

He closes his eyes and shakes his head a bit. “The kiss was perfect. You’re perfect.”

“Shawn, you’re just lost in the moment.”

“I’m not,” he says as he leans forward and kisses you softly. He kisses between words as he says, “I’ve never been so happy in my whole life than I am when I’m with you. I just had to open my eyes.”

You pull away this time and he chases your lips a bit before settling on bumping noses. “When did you know it wasn’t pretend anymore?”

“As soon as we started. My brain got the green light to make you mine and I couldn’t stop it. I wanted your attention all the time, I didn’t care if someone was watching or not.”

Shawn moves back and pulls you in front of him so you’re between his legs where he’s sitting on the edge of the bridge. He tucks your hair behind your ears and wraps his arms around you.

You bring your arms up and grip the back of his shirt, burying your face in his collar. “This feels unreal. I never thought you would actually do this. You’re like a Disney prince, you can’t be real.”

“I am real, and you’re my princess. Now, come on princess, we have some rumors to confirm,” Shawn chuckles and stands, lifting you up so your legs are wrapped around his waist. He walks you past the crowd of fans with the biggest smirk as he bumps his nose with yours. It’s one of the first times you’ve seen him practically ignore fans, but you couldn’t be happier.

_______________

The moment the door closes to your shared room, Shawn presses you against the wall and kisses you hungrily. Your hands go to his belt and he bites at your lip for encouragement.

“Shawn?!” Andrew yells through the door.

You halt, fingers freezing on Shawn’s zipper. Oh right. Andrew didn’t know yet. If you didn’t answer then he would just go away?

Shawn makes a shushing motion and creeps away from the door, taking your hands to lead you to the bed. Andrew knocks again and you feel sick to your stomach. Shawn’s phone buzzes and you reach around and pull it from his back pocket.

“Its Andrew. He said he knows we’re back. Answer the door.”

Shawn growls and goes to the door, ripping it open and glaring at his manager. “What? We went for lunch.”

Andrew steps in and Shawn walks over to you. He holds his phone up with a picture of the two of you kissing. “Let’s talk.”

After ages of discussion, an agreement is made. Shawn would still have to walk the red carpet tomorrow at the KIT Fashion Gala with Cailey, and he would have to appear on the talk show she co hosted in a few weeks. But they wouldn’t be selling the relationship angle now that you as Shawn were very publicly an item.

You and Shawn spend the rest of the day in bed, lazily kissing and exploring each other while discussing what you wanna do as soon as you get home from the press tour. Mostly he wants to show you Toronto and Pickering, introduce you to his friends and family, and fuck you senseless but that last part didn’t require being back home.

_______________

Lydia and her team show up early the next morning to get Shawn fitted and dressed for the gala. You’re up when they come knocking on the hotel room door and Shawn isn’t, so you answer.

“Oh my God the rumors are true!” Lydia squeals as you open the door dressed in Shawn’s tee and your underwear.

“Yeah, surprise!” You laugh and Lydia gives your cheeks air kisses as she and her team haul in a bunch of racks and cases.

“You two are adorable. He couldn’t have chosen a better woman,” Lydia gushes as she starts to unpack.

Shawn sits up in bed and runs a hand through his sleep mussed hair. “You trying to steal my girl, Lyd?” He laughs.

“I got a girl, but if you want to share…”

“Oh you know I’m not good at that,” Shawn says as he stands and stretches, giving you a great view of that glorious ass of his. “Shower and a shave first?”

“Of course, wouldn’t want your stink on these fresh suits.”

Shawn feigns hurt and you giggle.

Lydia unzips a few of the carrier bags and glances over at you. “What are you wearing tonight?”

“Me? Um, just one of my regular dresses probably?”

Lydia shakes her head and goes over to the second rack her assistants rolled in. “No, you’re not going to be dressed like the assistant. You’re Shawn Mendes’s girlfriend, you have to show up in something nice.”

“But I don’t think anyone is going to care what I’m wearing. I’m not on the red carpet.”

Lydia laughs and holds on to the rack. “You’re kidding right? He is not actually walking with Cailey is he?” You nod. “Well fuck that little tart. You’re wearing this.”

She pulls a long black v neck sleeveless dress. There’s a little jewelry set hanging with it on the hanger. You stand up and go over to it, running your hand over the front of it. It’s got a little thin white belt around the waist with a little gem encrusted detailed feather as the clasp.

“This is too nice. I’m not sure I can wear this.”

“You can and will. Come on, try it on.” Lydia tugs at your shirt and you turn your back to her and pull your shirt off. “You don’t need a bra, here,” she says passing the dress to you off the hanger.

You step into it and Lydia zips the back up. It’s just a hint loose along your bust line. You turn and Shawn steps out of the bathroom in his boxers, scrubbing his hair dry with a towel.

“Hey Lydia, I was thinking…wow,” Shawn says dropping his towel and looking you over. “You look stunning.”

“It’s just a dress,” you giggle, smoothing the front down.

Shawn crosses the room and grabs your hips, running his hands up and down your sides. “It’s a damn good dress. Are you wearing this tonight?”

“Yes, she is,” Lydia answers for you. “And your suit will match.” Shawn looks back as Lydia pulls a black suit down that has black silk accents. “I was thinking we do a black suit with a floral button down under it. I’ve brought several options.”

“Let’s get to it then,” Shawn smiles, looking down at you and kissing your head. “Tell me your favorite and I’ll wear it okay?”

“Alright.”

“Perfect. Andi and myself will work with Shawn, Dana you help fit that dress to her and we’ll get this show on the road,” Lydia says and claps her hands together. It was going to be a long day.

_______________

The KIT Gala was just like every other event you’ve been to with Shawn. Loads of famous people, douchebags with cameras, no so douchebag professional photographers, constant blinding lights and fake conversations. It’s just another event.

That’s what you tell yourself anyway. You’ve got nerves like never before. You’ve never been Shawn’s girlfriend at an event before. You’ve never been paid any mind until you put that ring around your neck and everything kicked off.

You touch the ring, it’s on a long chain that dips into your dress that’s layered with a few other simple chains to complete the look Lydia picked out for you. Shawn had insisted that you keep holding on to it, and you would.

The car stops and Shawn slides his hand off of your thigh. “This is my stop. I guess I’ll meet you inside,” he says heavily.

You give him a weak smile, knowing he doesn’t want to go out and walk in with Caliey. The door opens and Shawn takes a deep breath, stepping out and the crowd gets a little louder. You smile, glancing around at the people taking photos from beyond barrier gates. It was never dull going places with Shawn.

A moment passes, just a quick second and you realize the car should be pulling away now. Shawn is out but the door is open still.

“Give me your hand,” Shawn says, leaning into the car.

“Shawn no, I’m not getting out here. Go meet Cailey.”

“Babe, get out. I’m not walking with her. You’re in an Armani dress and decked out in more diamonds then I can count. I’m walking with you.”

You grab Shawn’s hand and scoot across the seat. “Andrew is going to be pissed,” you laugh softly.

“He shouldn’t have let me ride with you then,” Shawn smirks and you stand beside him, scooting to the side so the door can close.

The second that the press realize who you are, they go wild. It’s a million questions a second, photographers yelling to look from every direction. Shawn threads his fingers through yours and walks you to the first stop along the long red carpet.

Endless photos and poses later and you and Shawn reach the entrance of the building. You look back and see Cailey walking alone, posing in the most over dramatic ways and you roll your eyes. She’s in a long while dress that really just washes her out and you’re glad she didn’t walk with Shawn. It would have been a horrible match.

“You doing okay?” Shawn whispers against your ear as you step into the quiet building.

“Yeah, just a little bit overwhelmed. I’m glad it’s over though. Did you see Cailey?”

“Oh yeah, she looks pissed.”

“Well I mean you ditched her.”

Shawn pulls you aside and grabs both of your hands. “I want nothing to do with her. I don’t care what Andrew said, Cailey and her team would spin some story out of us being together any way they could. I wouldn’t let that happen, I love you too much to let you get stuck in drama like that.”

“You love me?” You ask, not sure if you heard him right.

Shawn is silent, realizing what he just said.

“Shawn, you said you loved me.”

“I do. I love you. Oh my God.” He grabs your face and kisses you softly. “I absolutely positively love you.”

“I love you too,” you giggle, unable to contain yourself. How long had you wanted to say that to him, lord only knows. “I love you so, so, much, but is now the best time for us to be confessing this?”

Shawn looks around like he’d forgotten where the two of you were. There’s a couple reporters with their phones out nearby but you can’t be bothered.

“Can you do something for me?” Shawn asks with a grin and you say sure. “Will you hold on to this ring for me?”

Shawn slides his rose gold pinky ring off his finger and grabs your hand. He slides it over your ring finger and brings it up to his lips to kiss it softly.

“Shawn, what in the world…”

“It’s a promise ring.”

“Shawn this ring is like eight hundred dollars, this is not a promise ring.”

He leans forward and presses his forehead against yours. “It is today. It’s to remind you that I love you and this isn’t a dream, even though it feels like it might be.”

“You’re such a sap.”

Shawn shrugs and slips his arm around you as Cailey passes by, giving a nasty look in your direction. You just grin, so smug that Shawn has your whole heart and you have his.

“Come on, let’s go get dinner and then get yelled at by Andrew. The sooner this is over with, the sooner I can get you out of that dress.”

“Shawn!”

“Don’t think I won’t rip that dress open in the car. I’ve waited long enough for you,” Shawn smirks and you slap his arm as he walks you into the huge dining hall of the event building.

“Fine. I won’t rip it. But as soon as we’re alone together, I wanna see you in nothing but my ring on that chain around your neck.”

“I think I can manage that.”

Shawn leans down and kisses your cheek, giving your jaw a little nip that sends a rush of heat over your whole body. “Good girl,” he says smiling against your skin and you know that this was only the beginning with a whole new Shawn you had yet to explore and you know you’ll be falling in love with over and over again.

**Author's Note:**

> Author Note:
> 
> Thank you for reading! Please leave Kudos, comments and more! 
> 
> Find me also at softboyshawn on Tumblr and adubs91593 on Wattpad


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